

FT Tech Tonic
Financial Times
We are in the midst of a digital revolution, where the line between our physical world and cyberspace is blurring. Tech Tonic is the show that investigates the promises and perils of this new technological age. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

11 snips
Nov 1, 2022 • 25min
Climate tech to save the planet: How to keep flying
As more people fly, aviation is on track to becoming a much bigger problem for climate change. Host Pilita Clark, FT columnist and climate journalist, looks at the potential for a more sustainable aviation industry, a sector that’s struggled to come up with new technology to cut its emissions. Could we end up being forced to cut back on flying altogether? Producer Josh Gabert-Doyon travels to Farnborough Airshow, and we hear from Zero Petroleum’s Paddy Lowe, Boom Supersonic’s Blake Scholl, and executives from Boeing, Airbus, ADS, United and EasyJet.Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology And Climate team at https://www.ft.com/climate-capital Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 snips
Oct 25, 2022 • 24min
Climate tech to save the planet: Out of thin air
Direct air carbon capture - taking carbon dioxide straight out of the air around us - sounds like science fiction. In this episode Pilita Clark visits Iceland to meet the engineers and scientists at the forefront of this new tech. Can carbon capture scale up quick enough to have an impact on climate change, or is it just an excuse to allow fossil fuel companies and emitters to keep polluting?Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technologyPresented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 24, 2022 • 1min
Coming soon: Will climate tech save the planet?
The climate crisis threatens the future of the planet. But don’t worry, technology will save us. At least that’s the message from startups, innovators and investors. Are they right? FT columnist and climate journalist Pilita Clark discovers the tech scene’s latest moonshot efforts to fight climate change, from sucking carbon straight out of the air to the apparent energy miracle of nuclear fusion. Will these technologies be ready in time, or are they a dangerous waste of money and resource at this most critical moment for our planet?Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 13, 2022 • 27min
A sceptic’s guide to crypto: the crypto Wild West
In the fifth episode of the latest season of Tech Tonic, FT columnist and host Jemima Kelly looks at crypto regulation, and why there’s so little of it. It’s a story that takes her to the heart of US cowboy state Wyoming, where the crypto industry appears to be writing its own laws. And as the US midterm elections ramp up, we hear about how crypto lobbying has taken hold of Washington DC too. Jemima talks to Rob Jennings, co-founder of CattleProof and the Wyoming Blockchain Coalition; Caitlin Long, head of Custodia Bank; Dennis Kelleher, co-founder of Better Markets; and Stephen Diehl, co-author of 'Popping the Crypto Bubble'. Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the FT’s technology team at ft.com/technology For a special discounted FT subscription go to https://www.ft.com/techtonicsale Presented by Jemima Kelly. Special thanks to The Banker’s Asia Editor Kimberly Long and The Banker podcast. Tech Tonic’s senior producer is Edwin Lane, our producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon, and Manuela Saragosa is executive producer. Our sound engineer is Breen Turner, with original scoring by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Clips credits: WNET, CNBC, Ford Motor Pictures, Wolfgang BayerRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 6, 2022 • 30min
A sceptic’s guide to crypto: the church of bitcoin
In the fourth episode of the latest season of Tech Tonic, FT columnist and host Jemima Kelly looks at the enduring faith in cryptocurrency. What do bitcoin devotees really believe, and does hardcore adherence to the coin make it a cult? Jemima dives into the myth-making around the mysterious bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto and the belief systems underpinning cryptoland. We hear from the FT’s banking and fintech correspondent Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, crypto investor Nic Carter, bitcoin apostate Aviv Milner, and Amanda Montell, author of Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism. Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the FT’s technology team at ft.com/technologyThe FT’s Cryptofinance Hub is at https://www.ft.com/cryptofinanceSiddharth Venkataramakrishnan and Robin Wigglesworth on the cult of crypto https://www.ft.com/content/9e787670-6aa7-4479-934f-f4a9fedf4829 For a special discounted FT subscription go to https://www.ft.com/techtonicsale Clips credits: YouTube, Jacob Davis, Universal MusicPresented by Jemima Kelly. Special thanks this week to Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan, the FT’s banking and fintech correspondent. Tech Tonic’s senior producer is Edwin Lane, our producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon, and Manuela Saragosa is executive producer. Our sound engineer is Breen Turner, with original scoring by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 30, 2022 • 32min
A sceptic’s guide to crypto: NFT mania
In the third episode of the latest season of Tech Tonic, FT columnist and host Jemima Kelly unpacks the craze around non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Blockchain technology gave us NFTs, and NFTs have created a new way for artists to sell digital work. But NFTs have also become a breeding ground for rampant fraud and scams. And then there’s the most recent crypto crash: can NFTs survive it? Jemima hears from artist Kevin McCoy, who created an early version of the NFTs, as well as Spottie WiFi, the world’s first and only NFT rapper, and Aless Ribeiro, co-founder of Rug Pull Finder, an NFT scam investigation service.You’ve been listening to Tech Tonic from the Financial Times with Jemima Kelly. Special thanks this week to the FT’s tech reporter Cristina Criddle and global tech correspondent Tim Bradshaw, who conducted the interview with Spottie WiFi. Tech Tonic’s senior producer is Edwin Lane, our producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon, and Manuela Saragosa is executive producer. Our sound engineer is Breen Turner, with original scoring by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.News clips credits: Spottie Wifi, NBC, Fox NewsRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 snips
Aug 23, 2022 • 34min
A sceptic’s guide to crypto: bonus interview with a16z’s Chris Dixon
A bonus episode of Tech Tonic featuring a full, unedited interview between John Thornhill, FT innovation editor, and Chris Dixon, head of Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund. This bonus episode is part of the latest Tech Tonic series, which covers crypto and blockchain technology. You can listen to the second episode of the series, presented by Jemima Kelly and featuring Chris Dixon as well as Web3 critic Molly White, here. Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the FT’s technology team at ft.com/technologyThe FT’s Cryptofinance Hub is at https://www.ft.com/cryptofinance For a special discounted FT subscription go to https://www.ft.com/techtonicsalePresented by Jemima Kelly. Special thanks to John Thornhill. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 23, 2022 • 26min
A sceptic’s guide to crypto: the ‘smart’ money
In the second episode of the latest season of Tech Tonic, FT columnist and host Jemima Kelly tries to understand why an influential Silicon Valley investment firm thinks that Web3 is a good bet. Will blockchain technology really be the foundation of a new internet era? Is Web3’s promise to decentralise the internet going to pose a challenge to companies such as Facebook and Twitter? The FT’s innovation editor John Thornhill interviews Chris Dixon, head of Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund, and Jemima talks to Molly White, author of the Web3 Is Going Just Great blog.Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the FT’s technology team at ft.com/technologyFor a special discounted FT subscription go to https://www.ft.com/techtonicsalePresented by Jemima Kelly. Special thanks to John Thornhill. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.News clips credits: CBC, NBC, CNN.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 16, 2022 • 27min
A sceptic’s guide to crypto: boom and bust
A new season of Tech Tonic asks whether crypto and its supporting technology - the blockchain - have a future following a market crash. In the first episode of this five-part series, FT columnist and host Jemima Kelly casts a sceptical eye on what led to the boom in digital assets and their subsequent collapse. She assesses the damage with the FT’s digital assets correspondent Scott Chipolina, and hears from big-time bitcoin investor Michael Saylor, Dogecoin co-creator Jackson Palmer, and crypto YouTuber, Wajahat Mughal.Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the FT’s technology team at ft.com/technologyThe FT’s Cryptofinance Hub is at https://www.ft.com/cryptofinance Scott Chipolina’s reporting can be found at https://www.ft.com/scott-chipolina For a special discounted FT subscription go to https://www.ft.com/techtonicsalePresented by Jemima Kelly. Special thanks to Scott Chipolina. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.News clips credits: CNBC, Saturday Night LiveRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 15, 2022 • 1min
Coming soon: A Sceptic’s Guide to Crypto
Even after the crypto markets crashed this year, there are still a number of people who believe there’s a future for digital assets and blockchain technology. FT columnist and avowed crypto sceptic, Jemima Kelly, isn't so sure. On this season's Tech Tonic, she takes a trip deep into cryptoland to hear from critics, converts and hardcore believers to find out whether crypto technology has a future.Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technologyPresented by Jemima Kelly. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.